Fairytale of New York
by snowglobe18
Summary: Set after the fall, Molly has gone to New York City with a group of girlfriends, will a chance meeting with someone help to heal her very broken heart? Or will she let this someone slip away?
1. Chapter 1

**I have decided to do something a little different and I really hope that you like it. **

-.-

**"**_**Forgive me, please, god, Molly forgive me**_**" she begged as she looked at her friend. **

**Molly pulled her arm away from her hand "You will live with what you **_**both **_**have done" she said and as she went to shut the door on her face she said "Please leave me alone now" **

Molly came out of her own world as she looked out the window of the plane that she was sitting in, her friend was sat next to her and the other two were a couple rows away; they weren't able to be together but that didn't mean she was up for talking.

"You disappearing on me again?" Sarah asked and gave Molly a little nudge.

"Only deciding what I'm going to wear tomorrow" Molly lied and looked over at her friend with a soft smile.

Sarah, of course, didn't believe anything that she was saying because of the fact that she knew just how much Molly had been through the last three years. "Look, Molls, it's been a while since you have properly lived, you need to have a good time and that's why we've brought you to New York" she smiled at her friend. "Between Bangladesh, the funeral and everything after that.. you need to just live because two years is too long"

"I am living" Molly replied and watched Sarah. Her friend means well she really does but the last thing Molly wants to do is talk about what happened over two years ago especially when she wasn't still sleeping properly from it. She was still uptight and definitely not herself and when she hears knocks at the door she goes back to the knock that she had gotten after Charles' tour.

"_**I am sorry, Mrs James, really I am**_" the man had said when he came to her door and she doesn't even remember crying, did she cry?

Molly sighed under her breath and looked back out the window at the sky that they were flying across and the water that they were leaving behind.

Sarah went back to the book that she had been reading leaving Molly to live in her head once more, she moved her eyes from the window once more and looked at the row across from theirs and saw a man was reading a paper and the image that she had in her head was of the headlines after everything hit them and she felt herself swallow hard and look away.

**Captain beds Medic as his own hero wife waits at home**

**"**_**How did they get hold of this?" Molly was asked and she bit down on her lip. The last thing she had wanted was for this to actually be leaked to the press but there it was was in black and white on the front of the paper and she wanted to be anywhere but here. **_

_**"How do they get hold of anything?" Molly asked and then put the paper down before she went and got herself a cuppa. **_

Molly shook her head and leaned back against the seat and just wanted this flight to be over so that she didn't have to sit here and think of things that she didn't want to think of in the first place.

"How do you think _she's _getting on with being demoted?" Sarah asked over her book and looked at Molly.

"I don't honestly care how she's getting on" Molly admitted, the last thing she wanted to do was think about Georgie pissing Lane and everything that has happened.

Charles had died, and she never really got any closure for any of it.

It was the investigation after that brought everything to light, up to that part she had loved Charles but sadly in the end she just couldn't take it no more; unfortunately after finding out that he had slept with Georgie, it just pushed everything that she felt out the door and now she was stuck with her emotions.

She was going to speak again but then a voice came through the plane and never has she been glad for the interruption from someone.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen,this is your captain speaking, we will be starting our descent and will be landing in about twenty minutes, it seems as if the weather has taken a turn in New York City as it's snowing, hope you enjoyed the flight and make sure that your tables and seat are in their upright positions, thank you for flying with British Airways_"

"Well I'm glad that I brought the extra clothes then" Molly said with a smile that seemed a little bit too smug for Sarah who then playfully mocked her as she put her tray forward and locked it in place.

Sarah then stood up and put her book back into her carry on bag before she sat back down and making sure that her seat was up straight she put her seat belt back on just in time for the light to come on telling people to put their seat belts on.

The plane managed to land on the runway and was carefully taken to the terminal and they got off the plane and got their luggage, surprisingly nothing was missing which seemed like a win for everyone.

It was almost Christmas and Molly knew that she was going to enjoy this trip whether she wanted to or not and with New York City being home to some of the bed Christmas lights she was definitely going to make sure that she took some pictures and who knows maybe a Yankee Candle or two back home.

When they got through security they walked through the Airport together, Molly wished that she had grabbed her coat now but she guessed it would have to wait til they got to the hotel and maybe even a shower because she had been in her clothes over night and would rather not wear the same clothes two days in a row.

They managed to get a taxi to their hotel and the snow coming down was so beautiful that Molly knew if this much snow fell in the UK then it would literally cripple the whole country.

-.-

When the driver dropped them off at their hotel in Times Square Molly knew that she was definitely in the heart of everything apart from Central Park but they would just have to get a taxi there.

The girls quickly got their luggage and headed inside and Molly was amazed at how beautiful the hotel looked inside that she stopped in the middle of the lobby and stared up at everything, it was like being in a film. It wasn't The Plaza like in Home Alone two but it was beautiful all on it's own.

Sarah checked them in and she came back to Molly who stood there with her mouth opened before she handed over a key "You and I are sharing a room, Daniella and Marnie are sharing" she could see that Molly was taken with the place and smiled to herself.

"I don't think I will want to go home"

"Good at least then you'll enjoy yourself" Sarah said and shrugged up a shoulder when Molly's eyes landed on her. She went to move away but then she saw a few guys walk into the hotel and she raised an eyebrow "Oh hello" she said to herself and then patted Molly's arm until the brunette turned her head and saw what Sarah was seeing.

Molly's eyes caught with the eyes of the front guy who was walking into the hotel and they both smiled at each other, though his seemed a little bit cocky to her but at least he had a nice smile. "Come on" she said and pushed Sarah a bit to get her moving away from where they were standing and over to the lifts, but that didn't mean that Molly didn't look back at the guy before the doors shut on him.

When the girls came to their floor and got out they headed in the direction of their rooms and both were just across from each other which honestly was lucky.

When Molly and Sarah went into their room they had a mini hallway which then went into the room and there were two beds and one was by the window and both girls dumped their suitcases on their beds before headed to the window and looking out at the snow falling was just so beautiful that Molly hasn't seen anything like it before.

"I'm glad that you came with us, Molly" Sarah admitted and put her arm around her friend before Molly leaned her head against her friends.

"Me too" she finally admitted and knew that being away from London and the UK would be the best thing for her right now.

Everything was a mess and even after two years it was hard to find peace no matter what actually happened and maybe a trip to New York City will be the best thing for her to just have some time where she's not reminded of everything that has happened over the last few years.

The two best friends stood there for a moment just watching the snow before Molly decided that she was going to have a shower and wash the plane smell off of her.

When the shower was over she ran her hand over the steamed window to wipe some of it away. The image that she saw in the mirror was over a tired twenty-something year old that has seen more than she wanted to. Molly felt like she did when she came back from Afghan, like she couldn't find no peace at all and for the last two years she has tried so hard to keep herself busy but honestly it didn't ever work.

Two years were too long for her to hold on to this and right now she wanted to just let everything go because it was only going to eat her up if she didn't and the last thing she wanted was for this to go on any longer than it has. Molly pulled a brush through her dark hair and promised that she was going to enjoy this time away.

Plus it's not every day that she gets to go to New York City to do some shopping and look at the Christmas lights and have snow falling around her.

Maybe this year will be different and she might find someone who will mend the heart that she has shut away since her marriage ended but for now she was going to enjoy the time that she has with her friends.

-.-

"I can't believe that you brought me to New York" Clay said and looked over at his friends "especially when you know I could be called out at any moment, the bad guys don't seem to know it's Christmas"

"I'm sure that even _you _can get some time off" Matty replied as they headed up the steps into the hotel that they were staying at in Times Square.

"Tell that to Jason" Clay mumbled under his breath and shivered in his coat before they walked, single file, through the doors into the hotel lobby.

"Well your boss sounds like a Scrooge" Justin patted him on the shoulder.

"Cut the guy some slack, he's had a tough year and it's not really going to get any better for him" Clay admitted. He put his bag over his shoulder and as he did he caught sight of two girls in the lobby chatting to each other and when the brunette turned around and looked he let a smile pull at his lips.

Maybe, just maybe, this trip might not be as bad as he thought it would be. Clay gave her a smile once more and then watched as she walked off with her friends and into the elevator.

Clay jumped when Justin came up behind him and said "Woo someone is checking you out, damn!" he said loud enough for the girl across the desk to hear and Clay cleared his throat before letting Matty take the lead on this one, after all it _was _his idea to come to a snowy New York City just before Christmas.

Unlike the girls they were having their own separate rooms, the last thing Clay wanted was to bunk with these two idiots.

They took the other elevator up and once they found their own floor and their own rooms; Clay shut them out and put his bag on the bed before falling backwards on to it, maybe this was what he needed. Maybe he had to get out the headspace that he had been in for a while.

And maybe it wouldn't hurt to embrace New York City for a little while.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just want to say thank you for your reviews it does mean so much. But I think I do have to address a few things, unfortunately in this story Charles has died and it's about Molly's journey of finding herself again. **

**It's a different story to my usual CJ/Molly stories but if you feel like you can't read it because of the fact there's no Charles in it then that's fine. **

**For those sticking with the story then thank you because again it does mean so much to me. **

-.-

Molly couldn't honestly believe that she was in New York especially near Christmas time, a time where it was so beautiful with the tree and the lights and the snow definitely but more than that she was with people that meant so much to her.

Her girlfriends had been there through everything and she was more than grateful to have them in her life especially now more than ever but she did have to admit that they were right especially when she hadn't been herself lately.

Hell she hasn't been her usual self in over two years.

She looked out the window at the snow that was still coming down and smiled to herself actually glad that she had brought all of her winter wardrobe, well not _all of it _but enough that she would actually be feeling warm outside.

The other three had said that they would meet her downstairs when she had finished her shower and it felt definitely better than what she had felt on the plane.

Molly checked her phone and saw that there were pictures from Sarah on there and it looked like she had actually taken a picture of everything even a selfie with a drink and that was enough to pull Molly out the door, making sure that she had her phone and the room key just in case tonight was going to get a little bit messy; they had to have someone who was sensible enough to get them all back up to their rooms.

She left the room in a pair of jeans with a polo neck jumper and trainers and pressed the button for the lift and when the doors opened she pressed the button to go down when there was a voice calling to hold the lift and she put her hand between the doors before they closed so that they opened up again and in walked the guy from the lobby that she had smiled at earlier.

Suddenly she felt awkward.

Both of them moved towards the back of the lift and there was silence between the both of them.

"Isn't it funny how no one seems to ever talk when they are in the elevator?" Clay asks and looks over at Molly. "Your friends ditch you too?"

Molly chewed on her lip gently and heard the cute American accent and knew that he definitely wasn't like her, a girl in a different country, he was just in a different state. "I think it's just about not knowing whether the other person would want to talk" she admitted "just ask the people in Marks and Spencer's" she said in a joking matter.

Clay smiled when he heard her accent, a Brit.

"Uh well they decided to head down to have drinks so I guess in a way they ditched when my back was turned, cutting my toe nails" Molly's eyes went wide because that was the last thing she was down and couldn't believe that it had come out and she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

Clay bit down on his lip to stop himself from laughing but honestly he couldn't hide the grin that wanted to peek out at the corners.

The lift came to the lobby and as soon as the doors were open she muttered "Nice meeting you" and she was out of the doors like she was The Flash out of pure embarrassment at what she had just said and now she wanted to put a lot of distance between the two of them.

Molly walked in the direction of the bar and finally found Sarah, Daniella and Marnie at a table and she walked over and sighed "Can you just kill me right now" she said and sat down.

"Why what happened this time?" Marnie asked.

Molly then decided to tell them the story of what happened to her in the lift and she wasn't all that surprised when the three friends actually started laughing, she wanted to die right there on the spot because of how embarrassed she felt "Oh don't," she muttered and put her hand to her forehead "I'm not going to be able to look at him in the face when I see him and to make matters so much more worse he is staying on our floor"

Sarah then handed over a drink that she had got for Molly "Here, have this"

Molly drank it back so quickly that the three of her friends raised their eyebrows so high that they probably disappeared into their hairlines. "I am going to need some more of these" she admitted when she put the glass back on the table.

"Yo, barkeep, keep them coming" Sarah called over to the cute bartender and winked at him.

Drinking and snow really doesn't mix but if Molly wanted to forget what happened then she was going to need a _lot _of drink in her system.

-.-

In the food hall Clay sat down at the table with his two mates and was actually glad that they were getting food, they had eaten at the airport before they caught their flight but because they weren't going that far they didn't have anything on the actual plane and now Clay was starving.

Justin watched him because he sat down look a little _too _cheerful and he was a little bit suspicious because Clay hadn't been that happy when they pretty much kidnapped him for a few days "What have you done?" he asked and leaned against the table and raised his eyebrow at him.

Clay looked up from the menu and over to one of his best friends "What are you on about? I haven't done anything"

"You are looking a bit happy and when we got here you were as miserable as my Grandmother's cat and now you got a smile like you're the Cheshire Cat so what's up?"

"First of all your Grandmother doesn't have a cat.. does she?" Clay asked because he hadn't seen Justin's Grandmother in a while and if she got a miserable cat then that would seem about right as the woman was miserable herself. "And second that cat is really creepy and I don't have a creepy smile, I have an amused smile" he shrugged up a shoulder.

"What is so amusing then Spenser?" Matty asked and put his cell phone down before looking over at one of his best friends "Have you met someone already?"

Clay rolled his eyes before he finally said about the girl from earlier but he didn't go into the whole details about what she had said because of the fact that the poor girl had looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole right there and the last thing she needed was for his friends to hear about it. "We had a talk in the elevator that is all and she's a Brit" he shrugged up another shoulder.

"Have you got her number yet?" Justin asked and sat back in his chair.

"Dude, come on, she's probably on vacation to get away from her problems, the last thing she needs is for someone to ask for her number" Clay shook his head and looked back down at the menu. "I think we should just go out for a pizza, get your snowboots on Matty, we're walking out of this place" he put the menu down and hit his friend on the back and grinned.

"You do know that they do Room Service here so we could have the food brought up?" Matty asked.

"And it'll cost a fortune in the end, I would rather pay for a pizza straight out than worry about the bills we're racking up while here"

"Frogman is being so cute!" Matty grinned over at Justin before looking back at Clay "You do know that you can't get me into bed that easily, don't you?" he said in a joking matter.

"Well your girlfriend didn't say that the last time I saw her" Clay grinned and sat back in his seat.

Justin nearly spat out his drink and then when he swallowed hard the drink that he had in his mouth he laughed to which Matty was looking at Clay and had spoken again.

"I like that, it's cute" Matty smirked.

Clay definitely didn't go after anyone's girlfriend, he wasn't that type of guy. When he was in a relationship he focused only on that girl and he had been with his last girlfriend for about three years when she decided that she couldn't take his lifestyle anymore. She didn't want to watch him deploy and for him to be away for months at a time. It had hit Clay pretty hard especially when she dumped him after what had happened in Manila.

After that he closed himself off from girls and just focused on being a SEAL.

Unfortunately Manila had messed him up even worse and for a while had had no one to turn to, he had shut his brothers off from him and after Stella left he had felt at rock bottom and wasn't sure if he would actually get out of it.

It took a while but in the end he pulled himself up and when the doctor's gave him the all clear to return to his team he knew that he was back home amongst those that he cared about.

"So are we leaving then?" Justin asked and finished up his drink.

"Clay is paying for Pizza" Matty put his glass back down on the table once it was finished and then stood up.

Clay rolled his eyes once more because he knew that it would fall on him to get the food but he honestly didn't mind it, they were going to have to get their jackets though because the snow was still coming down.

The three guys moved from their table and walked out the food hall and as they passed the bar Clay looked in and found elevator girl and watched for a moment as she had fun with her friends and he smiled to himself softly and wished that he had gotten her name because calling her elevator girl seemed a bit weird.

"Spenser" Matty called to him and waited at the elevator door which Clay could see was open.

"Coming" Clay said and looked back in the bar and smiled to himself once more before he walked over to the elevator where his two best friends were waiting for him.

Maybe, just maybe, New York wouldn't be so bad after all.

-.-

Molly had just about caught sight of the guy from the lift and she chewed on her lip for a moment. She hadn't let herself anywhere near another male since the end of her marriage to Charles. She had been tempted to throw herself into her Army work and then she got the knock at the door and after that everything just took a step back and she just didn't let herself get tangled up in anything else.

But then she had that weird conversation with the guy in the lift and it had made her realise, a little bit, just how much she missed having a conversation with another male even if that conversation had caused her to say about her toe nails which made her want to die all over again.

After her marriage fell apart she had missed a lot about Charles, especially when he would be there when she got home from her tours or how they used to Skype when he was home or the phonecalls that she would take but after Elvis it was as if she was living with a ghost and she just couldn't help him no matter what because he didn't want to admit that he had anything wrong with him, he didn't want to admit that he was suffering from PTSD.

After he got hurt she didn't want him going back to the Army, Molly wanted him to hang his boots up and just take it easy but in the end he went back and it just really was the end for them.

Molly watched as lift guy moved from his spot and then she knocked back a shot before she chewed on her lip once more.

If anything happened, not that she was expecting it to, then it really didn't have to mean anything because holiday flings happened all the time and it wasn't like they would see each other after this holiday, right?

Suddenly Molly found another drink in her hand and she knocked it back, she definitely wouldn't stop anything between them even if it was only for one night. Sex was sex, it didn't have to always mean a thing.

But for now she was going to enjoy the evening because now she was on her way to being blissfully drunk and she was more than happy with that.


	3. Chapter 3

Even though she had a bit to drink the night before surprisingly Molly didn't wake up with a hangover, they didn't have long here so the last thing she wanted was to waste a day.

The girls decided that they were going to do some sightseeing, or at least see what they could see in all of the snow.

They were bundled up in thick layers, Molly had a red coat on with a black sparkly hat, blue scarf and purple gloves, she laughed because of how mismatched she looked right now but if it kept her warm then it was worth it.

They left the warm hotel lobby and stepped out into the cold that seemed even worse than what it was like back in the UK; mostly because they seemed to have warm weather over Christmas so it was like they had stepped into a freezer.

They were centered around Times Square so they didn't actually have very far to go if they wanted to see all the lights and most of the shops.

Molly never thought that she would actually visit New York City, it was one of those places that one says about visiting but never actually getting around to do it because of how busy a person can be but she's glad that they're here.

They couldn't see much down to the fact that the snow was still coming down pretty bad, they had heard when they left the lobby that this was one of the worst snowstorms that they have had but whether that was actually true was another thing. Well Molly guessed that the American's would know if it was one of the worst storms.

They managed to get a few pictures of each other and watched for a few minutes as the men brushed the snow off from the red steps that people could clearly sit on but obviously they couldn't today. Molly looked in The Disney Store to see what she could get for her younger siblings and was surprised at what they had and promised that before they left to go back to London she would come in and get a couple things.

Of course the last thing she wanted to do was to over fill her suitcase and have to pay extra but if that happens then she would deal with it.

There was something magical about walking in snow, hearing it crunch under foot and know that you can go back to your place of residence and have something warm to drink.

The girls grabbed a Starbucks before they decided to head in the direction of Rockefeller Center and to catch a glimpse of the Christmas Tree that stood high over the ice rink. It was so beautiful that one could fall in love right here. There was something about watching people skating on the ice rink, especially the couples that liked to hold on to each other.

There was something intimate about how they were holding each other and she wanted to look away but Molly found herself watching them and her memory started to slip back to the time that Charles held her like that and unfortunately all of those memories were replaced by the anger she had felt after finding out what had happened with him and Georgie. There seemed to be a block on the memories she had of him and wondered if she would actually be able to fully unlock those memories or would they forever be locked into a part of her brain that just didn't want to remember any of that?

She shook it off and in the end looked away before she took a drink of her Starbucks that was sadly starting to get a bit too cold.

The Rockefeller tree was one of those trees that Molly would imagine that they would be able to get to stick outside their house but was glad that they never managed to because with how tall this thing was, there was no way that he would be able to fit on the small patch out the front of their house.

There were lights on the tree that didn't flash but was steady and there were the odd lights that like to flash like a diamond in the sun, it was beautiful and wished that she could take this image home with her because she was sure that her iPhone wouldn't do it justice if she thought about taking a picture and a video definitely wouldn't do it justice, it was something that a person had to see with their own eyes to even believe that this tree was this beautiful.

When they started to head back to the hotel they found the Santa's on the corners with their buckets and silver bells and Molly put some money into the bucket and she smiled when he thanked her and wished her a Happy Christmas.

"I want to take a ride on a horse and cart while we're here" Molly admitted before looking over at the other three females that were with her.

"Ooh that means going to Central Park!" Marnie said and smiled "I think we should do that because that will be a once in a lifetime ride especially if none of us actually come back to New York"

Molly wouldn't mind coming back to New York, there was something pretty about it when it had Christmas decorations up and when it was snowing so maybe she will come back here one day, maybe when she's out the Army and got more time to do some travelling; who really knows.

The four girls stopped off and got themselves something to eat from one of the street vendors and just as Molly was going to take a bite out of her hot dog the guy from the lift came in to view and she moved over to where Sarah was and said "Please just talk to me"

"I am talking to you" she replied and then pushed her eyebrows together before she looked over Molly's shoulder "wait, is that the hot guy from our hotel?"

"It's definitely him from the hotel and I embarrassed myself in front of him last night and now I want the ground to swallow me whole and not be stuffing my face full of hot dogs" but she looked up in time to see Clay stop and smile at her.

"You're elevator girl aren't you?" Clay asked Molly.

"Mmhmm" Molly hummed at him but wished that she had told him her name rather than have him think that her name was in fact _elevator girl. _

"I'm Clay" he finally said and held out his hand, do men actually shake women's hands? He wasn't sure and now felt like an idiot but couldn't really pull it back because that would make him look even more like an idiot.

Molly finally looked at him properly when he said his name and then down at his hand when he held it out to her and she found a smile pull at her lips in amusement. "Molly" she finally responded and then put her empty hand out and shook his while the smile stayed on her lips.

Clay held on to her hand for a little bit longer than he probably should've and when he finally let it go he cleared his throat and put his hand into the pocket of his jeans. "So are you enjoying it in New York?" he asked and then looked over at the other females that we with Molly too but then his blue eyes fell back on to her.

"Yeah," Molly admitted "there is a lot more snow than I thought there would be but it's really pretty"

"I think I read that there is going to be a big storm and it's probably bigger than anything that we've seen before so it could get really bad" Clay then cleared his throat "Well I'll let you get back to eating and I'll see you around the hotel" he smiled "Ladies" before he then turned around and was about to walk away and knew that this was probably the worse thing he could do to a visitor of the City but he was definitely intriqued, so he turned back around and said "If you want, if you want, we could get a drink later tonight" he watched Molly and expected a no and that would be a little bit embarrassing.

Molly opened her mouth to say something but Sarah answered for her.

"She will meet you in the bar at 8" Sarah smiled at him, Clay smiled back before nodded and then moving away from the four women.

Molly watched Clay move back in the direction of the hotel and then she finally turned to her best friend and said "Why you say yes for?"

"Molly, there is a hot guy that wants to have a drink with you, plus it's just a drunk unless you alright like him and I'm just making you realise that you need to get back out there" Sarah said with a shrug of her shoulders. "But what you do is really up to you, it's just one drink Molls, take the win on this one" she smiled softly.

Molly nodded before they all started to head back to the hotel too, a drink with a guy wouldn't hurt and it wasn't like there was anything to it other than just a drink. As they walked up the steps to go into the lobby of the hotel Molly decided that she was going to take Clay up on that offer of a drink, even if Sarah had said yes; a little drink never hurt anyone and she did miss the company of a man.

Maybe the drink would help calm the nerves that she had running through her, that wasn't down to Clay asking her to go for a drink or for her actually going but down to the fact that even after two years she couldn't seem to settle her mind. For one night only she wanted to stop thinking and maybe company with someone different might help her.

The warmth hit her as they walked in through the doors and headed in the direction of the lift.

Clay nowhere to be found.

Molly got into the lift with the other three girls and pulled her hat off her head and wondered just what she was going to talk about when they had that drink later, it's not like she could bring up everything that was on her mind because if he heard that then no doubt he would bolt.

"Or maybe he would actually listen to what you had on your mind, you never know" Marnie said and smiled softly.

Molly hadn't realised that she had said that out loud and wished that she hadn't said it at all. "I'm not sure anyone would really listen to what I have on my mind, Marns because sometimes I don't even want to live in my head, but thank you" she gave Marnie a smile and then squeezed her shoulder gently.

The doors opened and the four of them stepped out and they headed to their bedrooms, Sarah headed to the room that Daniella and Marnie were staying in and Molly headed towards her own room. "Hey, you not coming?" Sarah asked.

"No I'm going to check in with my mum, let her know that I'm okay, she worries and the last thing I want is millions of messages on my phone from a worried mother" Molly nodded and then put the keycard into the lock and the door opened before she pushed it open. Molly let the door shut behind her and she took off her coat and scarf along with her gloves and put them on the bed.

Molly sat on her bed and using the WiFi she decided to Skype her family back in the UK to let them know that she was okay.


	4. Chapter 4

It was slowly reaching eight pm and Molly realised that the feeling in her stomach was nerves because she hasn't done this in a while. Going on a date with someone who wasn't even in the military was hard because they couldn't really understand what she went through so that's why she's glad she found Charles because he could understand.

She decided to put some lippy on and pulled her dark hair back into a ponytail but then realised that it looked awful so she went with a braid and knew it wasn't perfect but at least her hair was up and out of the way.

Sarah walked out of the bathroom, she had just had a shower, and saw that Molly was still in the bedroom. "You getting ready to go?" she asked and picked up her hair brush and started to pull it through her wet hair that she had had up in the towel only a couple moments before.

"Yep, what you girls going to do?" Molly looked at Sarah through the mirror and smiled when she saw that Sarah was in Christmas PJs. It was cute really. They were consisted of a red top which read Merry Kiss-mas on it and white bottoms that had reindeer of every colour on them.

"I am going to read in bed and probably have an early night" Sarah admitted and then watched as Molly moved away from the mirror "Please tell me that you aren't going down to drinks with a hot guy dressed like a grandmother?" she pointed her brush at Molly and then moved it up and down to indicate the dreadful jumper that Molly had on. "Because you are not going dressed like _that_"

"Well it's only drinks" Molly admitted and shrugged up a shoulder, as if to say that it really didn't matter just what she wore because it was _only drinks _but Sarah shook her head at Molly and she shook her own head to indicate that both girls were saying _no_. She really didn't like the look that Sarah had in her eyes and knew that Molly was in for a make over whether she liked it or not.

Sarah sighed and put her brush down before going to the wardrobe that was meant for sharing but Molly's clothes didn't end up in there and it was making her itch because of the fact that the Army had told her to keep everything tidy and her clothes were still hanging out of her suitcase that was on a chair by the window.

"We are going to find you something to wear" Sarah was pushing her tops that were hanging up on the hangers to one side to see which one that Molly could wear.

"Again, it's only drinks" Molly rolled her eyes and put some more mascara on.

"Yes, with a hot guy that I would so jump if I were you"

"Well it's a good thing that you're not me because the poor guy would probably be traumatised by that"

"Harsh," Sarah said looking over her shoulder at Molly but then nodded "but true" before looking back at the tops in the wardrobe and it was really surprising that she had managed to bring the clothes that she had with her especially with the weight limit but here she was with everything she had packed.

Sarah then gasped when she found the perfect top for Molly, it was mint green and would definitely help with drinks. She pulled it out of the wardrobe because she knew that Molly had liked it before and then held it up before turning around to show her friend what she was going to wear even if she had to put it on Molly herself.

Molly looked at the top and knew that she had to give Sarah credit because she had asked to borrow it before, a while ago now, and smiled before walking over and taking it from her friend and taking her jumper off before putting the mint green top on and turning to look in the mirror and couldn't help but like what she saw because she hadn't dressed up in a while especially when she didn't have anywhere to really go. "Wow" she said and then looked over at Sarah.

"You look better, Molly" Sarah smiled before checking the time, it was almost eight. "You better get going and don't come back before morning" she took Molly's phone from her and said "You won't be needing this tonight so relax, have a few drinks, take a hot guy to bed" she wiggled her eyebrows before holding the door open "Have fun, my friend"

"Have fun with your book" Molly grabbed the room key because she would need it to get back in.

"I am reading a book about a Navy SEAL, I'm going to have so much fun" Sarah smirked playfully before holding her hand up and moving her fingers in a wave before shutting the door behind Molly once she walked out of the room.

Molly couldn't help but scoff under her breath before she headed in the direction of the lift and pressed the button for it to turn up. The lift doors opened and she walked in then pressed the button for the lobby. This time the doors shut without anyone running to catch them before they shut and down she went.

She leaned back against the wood panelling and chewed on her because honestly she couldn't believe she was even going for drinks with a guy she has seen a couple of times and one of those times were in the lift talking about her toe nails.

Molly wondered whether or not this was actually one of those times that she was being played; and if she was then she wasn't sure how she would really feel.

The lift stopped at the lobby and the doors opened before she took a deep breath and walked out going in the direction of bar.

Molly stopped at the door of the bar and looked around and couldn't see him and she felt like she really _had _been set up. But then a waiter moved out of the way and she saw Clay sitting at one of the tables and she couldn't help but smile; especially when he saw her and stood up, a smile pulling at his own lips. Molly walked in and over to the table and was about to pull a chair out but Clay beat her to it and pulled it out then she sat down "Thank you" she said with a smile still and then watched as he sat down in his own seat once more.

"I didn't know what you wanted to drink so I waited to order" Clay said before handing over the menu for the drinks and there was all these fancy names and he wasn't sure if he wanted to really drink something like these so he looked over at Molly when she put the menu down and called the waiter over.

"I think I will have a beer" she then looked over at Clay "Do you want a beer?"

"Make that two, good man" Clay nodded and put the menu down and smiled.

"Two beers coming right up" The waiter nodded and then walked off to the bar.

"Well that was easy" Molly said around a laugh.

"Having a beer definitely makes all of it easy" Clay commented. "So, have you got used to our snowy weather?"

"No, I don't think that I could stay in a place where it snowed this much"

"Well it doesn't usually snow this much, we have a storm coming through so New York probably doesn't get as much as you're seeing now, it doesn't snow in the UK?"

"Rarely" Molly admitted "and when it does snow the whole country breaks down and everyone has a melt down so we try not to have it snow that much" a grin pulled at her lips as she watched him.

"Oh so you rent the snow" Clay teased her and then smiled at the waiter when he brought the beers over "Thank you"

"Thanks" Molly smiled too and watched as the other male walked off and it was just the two of them again. "I have to confess that I wasn't sure if you would actually turn up" she ran her finger around the top of her beer glass and watched him. "I thought that maybe it had been a joke"

Clay pushed his eyebrows together "Why would anyone joke about going for a drink with you?" he asked and watched her "Have you had that before?"

"No but I'm not exactly one of the easiest people to talk to, especially lately so I thought that you were joking and also I haven't gone for a drink with another man for a very long time" Molly wasn't sure if she wanted to even get into that conversation but she wouldn't hide the fact that she once had a husband, what was the point in even lying about that? At least she would be on an honest page with him.

"Trust me, when I ask someone for a drink I don't mess about and I haven't been for a drink with another woman for a while either; so you're not alone there" he smiled and then took a sip of his beer.

"So, what is it you actually do?" Molly asked and took a drink of her own beer, it definitely wasn't anything like the UK beer but it wasn't so bad.

"I'm actually in the Navy" Clay admitted.

Molly's eyebrow raised at that, trust _her _to find someone here that was in the Forces. "That is actually pretty cool" she muttered and sat back in her chair. It seemed as if she was always going to be linked to someone in the military. She always linked Navy men to aircraft carriers. Always at sea.

"What about you?" He asked.

"I'm a medic" Molly admitted and nodded a couple of times. "Nothing fashionable"

"That's cool, a Nurse or a Doctor?"

Molly could sit here and tell him that she too was in the military but he really didn't need to know that, well they didn't have to be _too _honest with each other so she then finally said "A Nurse"

"That is very respectable" He said around a grin and the two of them then laughed.

Molly was actually glad that she had come for drinks with him because it felt nice to be in the company of a man. Sure it was drinks and yes okay they didn't really know each other but wasn't what going out for drinks actually meant? So that they could get to know each other a little better?

"So where abouts in the UK are you from? I'm going to be really cliche here and ask, London?"

"I am actually, this little council estate in London" Molly admitted.

"I have no idea what you just said but you are from London" Clay teased her.

"Yes I am" Molly confirmed that she was in fact from London, it felt like to all the Americans that if a person were from England/UK then they were only from London but she has known people from Bristol, Liverpool, Mansfield; even if he kept saying that he was from Derby, Bath and of course Manchester.

"So what about you?" Molly asked him "Where are you from?"

"Well at the moment I'm in Virginia, at Virginia Beach but I'm from California and I speak six different languages"

"That is impressive, I'm pretty sure that I only speak one" Molly smiled.

"Well I was a Navy brat so I picked up stuff along the way" Clay shrugged a shoulder like it was no deal. Even if it did come in handy when out in the field. His very first mission with Jason and the team had him being pulled out SEAL accademy so that he could be a translator; it had been then that he realised he wanted to be on Bravo team with Jason and the others. Even if he had pissed Jason off.

"It's alright for some, living it up on the beach" Molly teased at him.

"Well that would require going to the beach but at the moment I don't even have time for that when I'm back on base" he admitted.

-.-

They sat and chatted for a while and ordered more drinks and honestly the conversation was light and it was fun but there was a question that was burning her inside and she didn't want to ask it because the last thing that Molly wanted to do was bring up anything but he might be the one that could help her.

"You said that you were in the Navy" Molly spoke after a moment.

"That's right, what is this about?"

"I didn't want to bring this up especially when drinks have been going so well but have you known anyone who has suffered from PTSD?"

Clay watched her for a moment as if trying to figure out where this was actually going but he realised that the day he could read a woman would be the day that he would finally understand them and it definitely wouldn't be today. "I think the thing with PTSD is that no one wants to talk about it" Clay wasn't sure what someone with PTSD would think about why they never told anyone about it. "Why do you ask? Do you know someone suffering PTSD?"

Molly knew she shouldn't have asked because this question would come up. Could she really tell him just what had spurred the question on? Could she really lay everything bare for him and let him see what she was really hiding? Well it would be good to have an honest conversation when it came to this. "I _knew_" she admitted and reached for her drink and took a sip of it before putting the glass down and cleared her throat. "My husband was a Captain in the British Army and he died, he was suffering from PTSD"

"I am sorry, Molly, if I had known that you were mourning I would never have asked you out because the last thing someone needs is to go out on a date with another male"

Molly put her hand on his arm "No, it's okay" she said with a soft smile "I'm glad that you did, it's just that I never got any closure on certain things and it's actually harder to deal with than I thought and everyone tells me to move on but I want to understand, that is all"

Clay wasn't going to mention this but he thought that it would be best "My master chief lost his wife over two years ago now and she had been worrying about what would happen if they lost _him _but never had she thought of how they would cope if they lost _her _because she had never thought of it and for a while he was torn between the team and his family"

"What did he do in the end?" Molly asked.

"For a while he left the team and took care of his kids but everyone could see that he was losing it, he had suffered this big loss and all he kept saying was '_it should've been me, I was the one that was supposed to die_' and it was hard to see him like it but what hit him hard too was not long after he left our team was deployed and the guy who took over our team ended up being killed and he hated the fact that he couldn't have been there for his team and he wasn't making headway with his family no matter what he done, he was used to being in the field, to being with his team that in the end he came back but only because his daughter told him that she would rather have him there half the time but him being mentally there all the time than having him there all the time and his mind was elsewhere" but Clay had to admit that there were a few times that Jason did lose it while on missions but whenever they tried to talk to him about it he would brush it off but he was always told to not second guess his leader because that was when teams fell apart.

"After Charles suffered a loss I knew that everything had changed, he would talk to me, let me in and then suddenly the gap between use started to widen and I told him truthfully that I don't think he should go, that maybe it was time to hang up his boots but he went anyway and then he got injured and spent six months at home but then it all changed he just didn't seem interested anymore and I knew that I had to go, how could I save my marriage if only one of us was still part of it?"

"If you don't mind me asking what loss did he suffer?"

"His friend got killed by a bomb in Afghanistan"

Clay felt like it would be something like that and he nodded. "I was in Manila back last year and we were at this bar that all the tourists went to, it was a night out with the boys nothing too serious and a bomb goes off in the bar and we were able to help people, some of them sadly we weren't able to help but we helped more people than not and then I went outside and started to help the people out there and this as I was walking down the street I heard this cell phone ringing and I just about turned around when the bomb went off outside by the trunk I had been standing by and I never thought I would walk again let alone be alive"

"What happened?"

"I had to be flown back Stateside because of how bad the injuries were and after surgery I remember waking up and being told that I might never walk again or even go back to the Navy and I just focused on that and for a while I believed it" he admitted and nodded.

"How did you get out of that train of thought?"

"I had a friend help me, he told me not to give up and I haven't"

There was so much more that Molly wanted to tell Clay but at the same time she wanted to keep it so close to her heart and suffer with it alone, now wasn't the time to tell another guy about the rest but at the same time maybe mentioning PTSD over drinks wasn't the best idea either.

"I am sorry that I brought it up" Molly shook her head and felt bad about it.

Clay reached over and put his hand on hers gently, he gave it a soft squeeze and said "It's okay, It happened and not talking about it and keeping it bottled up will only make it that much more worse"

Molly smiled softly "And of course you brought me a drink so I'm glad that you are here"

"Me too" Clay admitted before giving her a smile and then slowly letting her hand go "Do you want another one or?"

"Maybe one more won't hurt" she grinned at him and then Clay ordered another round of drinks.

Molly watched him and knew that he must've fought hard to get back to where he was and a part of her found herself feeling glad that he was sitting here; that he had asked her out for that drink. But must of all she was glad that she had found someone to talk to because keeping it all inside wasn't doing her any good.

Clay then turned to her and said "You can talk to me about anything while you're here"

"I don't like burdening people with my problems, they probably have other things to deal with rather than having to listen to my problems too"

"Sometimes talking to a stranger can make things a little bit better and it's better than keeping everything inside for it to eat you up"

Molly had to admit that that was true, sometimes talking to a complete stranger about what she was going through was a lot easier than speaking to her friends who just kept telling her to move on but was it really that easy?

"I just wish I got closure, you know?" she asked and watched him for a moment and then smiled at the bartender who had brought the drinks over before Molly grabbed her own and took a sip of it.

"Then go get it, if you want that closure then you're going to have to find it for yourself because unfortunately it's not going to come to you"

Molly thought about that for a moment and she knew he was right but at the same time she didn't like the fact she would probably have to go to Georgie Lane to find out the truth of what really happened in Bangladesh but maybe it was time that she did come face to face with Georgie, who knows, but at the moment she was going to enjoy the drink with Clay.

-.-

They walked along the corridor going in the direction of her room, they were making small talk and it was nice.

"This is me" she said and stopped outside of the room that she shared with Sarah, it was pretty late so she did wonder if her friend was actually asleep. "I had a good time, even if the conversation was probably a bit too much"

Clay smiled at her "Really it wasn't, I will try to answer as many questions as I can but even sometimes some of them can be out of my hands"

Molly leaned against the doorframe and chewed on her lip "You know I don't usually speak about an ex on a drinks date" she admitted "it's just I needed to ask the question and get some answers"

Clay leaned against the wall beside the door and chewed on his lip for a moment before he let it go "Maybe you should go looking for that closure because it might make things better for you and you can decide what you want to do afterwards because in the end it's you that is hurting"

"And if it leaves me with more questions than answer? What do I do then? The last few years have been hard as it is" Molly wasn't sure she could deal with all of this again the second time around because as much as she wanted to be strong this time, it felt like she wasn't whole at all right now and she wanted to stop feeling like that. Molly wanted to put herself back together.

"Well in the end it's really up to you because it will be you that it affects but if you don't find that closure then you will never move on and you deserve to be able to move on, everyone does."

Molly watched him for a moment and knew, again, that he was right and sometimes she hated admitting that. She stood up straight this time and reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled the room key out of it and then put her eyes back on him. "Thank you for tonight" she smiled once more.

"If you're not too busy with friends maybe I could take you on a _real _tour of New York City but only if you want to" Clay smiled.

Molly thought about it but she had been here with her friends and the last thing she wanted to do was to leave them but she was sure that Sarah could spare her for a little bit but she would have to run it by her before she actually accepts anything. Instead she says "Maybe, maybe not, you will have to just wait and see if I take you up on that offer"

Clay laughed softly and nodded before looking down towards his own room a few doors down. "Well you know where I am if you want to take me up on that offer" he looked back at her, a smile once more pulling at his lips.

"That I do" she nodded before turning to the door and pushing the key card into the lock and watching as the light goes green before she pushes the door open and before going in Molly looks back at him before kissing his cheek softly, his beard brushing against her skin. "Good night Clay" she whispers before walking into the room and shutting the door with a smile.

"Good night indeed" Clay says to himself before he walks down to his room.

Sarah was fast asleep on her bed and Molly picks the book up from her stomach and puts the bookmark back into it then laying the book on the cupboard between the two beds before she starts getting ready to get in the bed herself.

Maybe Clay was right, maybe she did need to find that closure for herself because at least in the end she would hopefully be able to put all of this to one side and move on because even she does deserve to be happy in the end.

Molly got into her pjs, brushed her teeth and then quietly got into bed.

For the first time in a while she slept really well that night.


	5. Chapter 5

Molly woke up the next morning to see Sarah sitting on the other bed looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I feel like I'm in trouble" she muttered as she sat up, everything had been so quiet when she had come to bed the night before and now it felt like she was staring down an angry mob but it was only Sarah.

"Did you have a good night?" Sarah asked "And don't leave anything out, did you kiss him?"

"Oh good god" Molly muttered and then groaned before she moved back down and put her head back on her pillow. Even with everything that they had talked about the night before her date or drinks with Clay had been fun especially once they started drinking a lot more after and he walked her back to her room, even if he is only a few doors down.

"Oh come on, you went out to drinks with a very hot American guy last night and you honestly expect me not to ask how it went and why you are back here rather than in his room?" she wiggled her eyebrows before letting a grin pull at her lips.

Molly looked over at Sarah and wondered if that was what she had expected to happen between her and Clay, that the two of them would go to bed and Molly would be instantly cured with everything. Unfortunately it didn't work like that at all, there were other things going on and last night sex definitely hadn't been on her mind she was just glad that someone had wanted to go out with her.

Sarah must've seen the look on Molly's face before she sighed "I know that you wouldn't do that now but you do need to live a bit more Molly"

"I am living" Molly muttered and watched her friend.

"No, you really aren't, you're angry most of the time and we love you and we worry about you because having _that much _angry in you really isn't good for anyone"

Molly knew that Sarah and the others loved her and that they wanted the best for her but right now she wasn't sure what any of that was because she was angry, even if most days she could hide it behind a smile but she didn't feel it like she used to do. If she's being honest she got more advice from Clay than she had from her girlfriends but she guessed that hiding things from them would impact their advice. She sat back up and leaned her back against the headboard and then asked "Do you think I should talk to _her_?"

Sarah chewed on her lip for a moment before she finally spoke "That's the thing Molly, I can't tell you what you should do, if you feel like that is the only way you're going to get the closure that you clearly need then yes I think you should but what you do is really up to you" she smiled softly and then she went to say something but there was a knock at the door.

"Room service!" the voice called through the door.

"Did you order anything?" Sarah asked and looked over at Molly who shook her head but she got up from the bed anyway and over to the door and standing there was a guy and she was starting to wonder if someone was messing with them.

"Are you Molly?" the man asked and looked at the woman who opened the door.

Sarah looked back at Molly who had heard the man ask for her and she got up from the bed "It's for you"

Molly was confused because of the fact that she hadn't ordered anything but she walked to the door anyway "I'm Molly" she said and then took the note from the man who was still standing there holding his hand out for a tip and she cleared her throat before Sarah handed him over some money and then shut the door "Bit of a swiz if you ask me" she muttered and then looked down at the envelope before looking up at Sarah. "What do you think it says?"

"Maybe you have won the American lottery, did you do it?" Sarah teased at her.

"That would really be a miracle and then my dad wouldn't have to moan about his back for much longer" she chewed on her lip for a moment "Should I open it?"

Sarah rolled her eyes and took the letter from Molly and then opened the envelope up and pulling the paper out of it and opened it up before reading aloud. "Molly, I enjoyed the drinks last night and my invitation is still open for those chats whenever but if you want to still see the sights then meet me downstairs, Clay" Sarah turned and looked at Molly "Well it looks like you made an impression on the boy and now he wants to spend the day with you, and there isn't a yes or no box to tick which is really disappointing"

"You're hilarious" Molly said and then took the letter back from Sarah and saw that that was what it actually said and that there wasn't a yes or no box on there "Definitely not like a Brit then because there would be those boxes" she muttered and smiled softly.

"Are you going to go?" Sarah asked and sat back down on the bed and putting her leg up on the bed before bending her leg at the knee.

"I came here with you and the girls; I can't ditch you for some guy"

"A very hot _some _guy" Sarah grinned. "And plus it seems like he wants to spend the day with you especially when he went to all of this trouble but hey that's up to you"

Molly looked back down at the note and chewed on her lip; for the first time she had been able to just unwind and sure she had told him some about Charles he had seemed to understand what she was saying and she hadn't had that in a very long time. She had been able to just talk to Clay and there not be any bad come back from him and right now she could do with light and they were only here for a couple more days which reminded her she had to go shopping and get some stuff from the shops that she had seen when they went out. "I'm going to go"

"That's my girl, now go and get ready you look like you've been pulled through the hedge backwards"

Molly smiled and grabbed everything she needed and went for a shower and brushed her teeth. When she came out she was dressed in a roll neck teal jumper with a belt around the middle and black trousers with her trainers; boots would probably be pushing it a bit. She grabbed her red coat and her hat before she headed downstairs taking her phone with her.

-.-

Molly got out the lift and as she did she put her coat over her arm and looked around to see if Clay was actually there but it didn't look like he was. There was a small fear in her that she had missed him and now she wouldn't be able to go out to see those sights that he had been on about.

She waited for a couple of minutes and looked over to see the lift doors open and he walked out and she smiled. For the first time in a while it had been good to see a male walking towards her. It was a weird feeling especially when she had been making sure that she didn't get close to anyone out of fear of being hurt once more.

"Sorry I got held up, are you ready to see those sights?" Clay asked as he stood in front of her.

"Oh definitely" she put her coat on and her hat before doing up the buttons of her red coat, her dark hair falling around her shoulders but Molly really didn't care.

"Good you have your sneakers on, you're going to need them" Clay smiled.

Molly looked down at her trainers and raised an eyebrow "Trainers, they're called trainers"

Clay huffed out a laugh at her "You Brits and your way of saying things so differently"

"We like being different" Molly said that in a tease before they both walked towards the doors of the hotel.

They walked out of the hotel and into the snow that had stopped for now but if reports was to believed then they were in for a lot more before it melted like there hadn't been anything there at all.

"So where exactly are we going?" Molly asked and put her hands into the pockets of the red coat that she was wearing and actually wished that she had brought something a little more warmer but it seemed as if this had come out of nowhere and by the time their flight had landed it was all white and there was nothing that she could do at all. Clay definitely looked even more colder than she did.

"You will see" he said and held his hand out to a taxi that was coming in their direction slowly anyway.

"So mysterious" she teased and then watched Clay speak to the driver quietly before he opened the door for her to get into the taxi first "Such a gentleman" Molly spoke and then slid into the taxi and across the seat to sit on the other side so that Clay could get in, the door closed and they were off.

-.-

They finally stopped after what felt like ages but that could be down to the fact that everything was going slow today and got out of the yellow taxi; Molly knew that she was going to remember everything that had happened on her trip but unfortunately it was coming to an end faster than she really would've liked. The thing with going away or even having time off from somewhere was the fact that she never wanted to go back. This time it was her not wanting to go back to the UK but even here it felt like she couldn't run from her problems and knew she had to face up to them when she got back home.

"Is this?" Molly asked and looked over at Clay.

"Yep, Central Park, tourists like coming here especially it's a pretty nice walk but that is my opinion and you have to work that out for yourself" Clay smiled and walked through into the park with her. He still had another surprise for her.

If he's being honest he hadn't originally wanted to come here with the others but now that he was here he was glad that he had come especially after meeting her, he knew that nothing would come of it because of the fact that she was still grieving and he never wanted to push her to do anything she didn't want to do but it was nice to have the company.

Molly cleared her throat "Plus I've wanted to see it since Home Alone two"

Clay laughed as he walked beside her "Well then let's take that tour that you so desperately want to see"

They walked through the park and Clay brought them both food and warm drinks along the way and unfortunately their hot drinks got too cold a little bit quicker than each of them would actually have liked. The snow crunching underneath their feet was one of the best sounds ever and Molly really wished that she had some snow boots because her feet were feeling cold so she was going to have to make sure that once she got back she would put them in some warm socks.

The conversation was light between them, they laughed a few times to little stories that each of them told and it was making her feel a hell of a lot lighter than she had done before. Molly was happy that she had come to New York after all.

They stepped into the centre of the park and Molly got out her phone to take a few pictures and of course she couldn't help but getting a selfie with him; Molly wasn't sure what would happen once they parted ways, she didn't know if they would keep in touch but she was finding that she really did want to talk after they went their own ways. Even if it was to check in a few times.

Molly looked over at the horse and cart that was just waiting there and she chewed on her lip before looking over at Clay "Want to go on one?" she asked with a smile pulling at her lips.

"Why not" Clay walked over to the man and he asked if the man would give them a ride and he was happy when he said that he would so Clay turned back to Molly. "Prepare to be amazed."

Clay helped Molly up first before sitting down beside her and putting the blanket over the two of them. It was kind of romantic so he hoped that she didn't feel overwhelmed by this.

Molly was feeling something that wasn't overwhelmed and she was really enjoying this trip away from home more than she thought that she would and if she's being honest Clay was helping her with that. She felt like she was comfortable with him and it's something she's not felt for a while but she knew that it probably wouldn't last when she went home.

Watching as things went by them she felt so calm and could live in this moment for a good while. The silence between the two was broken by the driver speaking to them. "How did you two meet?" he asked over his shoulder at them.

Molly looked over at Clay and wasn't sure what to say but then something came to her mind "London, at a bar"

Clay bit on his lip gently and decided to play along and then said "She spilt her drink on me and of course asked if she could wash it for me and I came back with the line 'If you wanted to see naked then you only had to ask' and we have been together ever since but of course the long distance thing is an issue but we're getting there"

"It's good that you're working at it because if it's worth it then you'll make it work and you look good together" the driver spoke and carried on doing his driving.

Molly looked over at Clay when the driver said that and she smiled softly before looking down at the floor of the cart they were sitting in. She wasn't ready for anything right now but if she was to pick someone then she could see herself liking Clay but who knows what would really happen a few years down the road.

"You said about Home Alone" he said and then pointed up towards something high and watched as Molly followed his hand and then spoke again "It's The Plaza Hotel"

"Oh! Ding Dang Dong" Molly said with a grin and could see the lights on in the hotel and wondered what it would be like to stay in a hotel like that and knew it had been expensive when she looked online a while ago.

Clay laughed "Yes, Ding Dang Dong" he said and shook his head before he watched her. Clay knew she was going through so much and wasn't going to push it but if she ever needed anyone to talk to then he was here for her no matter what, even when they were ocean's away from each other. Maybe he hadn't expected to find a friend but it seemed like he had found one no matter what.

For that he was glad.

The rest of the journey continued in comfortable silence as Molly took in everything around her, she never expected to be amazed by anything American especially when she once told Rolex boy in Afghan that the America's were full of shit but America especially New York was pretty cool with her.

-.-

When they got back to the hotel, the taxi pulling up outside, and walked into the lobby Clay turned to her "So how much longer are you going to be here?" he asked as they walked to the lift.

"Tomorrow is the last day which reminds me that I have to go shopping and hope that they accept it back in London" she really hoped that they did because it would be Christmas presents.

"So are you going to the party?"

Molly wasn't aware that there was going to be a party mostly because she hadn't spent that much time with the others so they hadn't told her about the party tomorrow night, if they even knew about it of course. "What party?"

"The hotel is hosting a party and I was wondering if you were going but if you didn't know about it then I'm sure that it would be a no"

Molly scoffed "Trust me, we will probably be there because the others can't stop themselves from partying and that means they will drag me along too so you will probably see me there" she smiled and pressed the button for the lift and the doors opened up straight away and the two of them got in and pressed the button for their floor.

"Well no doubt we will be going too so if you want to have a last minute drink with me then I will be more than happy to do so" he stood against the back of the elevator before looking over at her.

"I might do but for now I am going to get warm and no doubt get quizzed about what happened today" she smiled.

Clay went to say something but unfortunately the doors opened up and standing there was another couple and one of them asked if they were going down "Sorry up" he smiled and they waved the elevator on before the doors closed and the silence hit them again as they headed up once more.

"Thank you for today" Molly finally said and watched him "It definitely was unexpected but you did show me some of the New York that I probably wouldn't have seen especially with the snow coming down and for that I am glad that you took me"

Clay smiled once more and looked down "I'm glad that you trusted me enough to actually let me take you out for the day"

"Me too" Molly said and the doors opened.

They walked out and down to her room and a silence fell once more. They got to her door and they stood looking at each other for a little bit and Molly went to kiss his cheek but he moved and their lips met and while a kiss was the last thing she had wanted she sank into it and he put his hand against her cheek and just as the kiss was getting good...

the door to her room opened up and Molly sprang from his lips like she was pushing something unwanted away. "O-oh" the voice came and Marnie's eyes went wide and she cleared her throat "Maybe I should.." she pointed to the door to indicate it shutting back up. Molly shook her head.

"No I was just coming in anyway" she smiled before looking at Clay "Thank you for today" she said again and then walked into her room.

"Uh huh" he said with a nod before he watched Molly walk into her room and the door shut behind them. Clay sighed and closed his eyes "Why the hell did you do that Spenser" he muttered to himself before moving down to his room.

Molly removed her hat and coat and looked at the door as regret sank into her, it wasn't the fact that she had kissed him, it was that Marnie had saw it and would no doubt tell Sarah and the last thing she wanted was something to be made out of this.

The last thing she really needed was to start anything with someone when she still hadn't got closure from the last relationship she had been in.

This really was going to complicate things and Molly didn't want that with Clay because she had been able to talk about things with him that she hadn't been able to with anyone else so it'll be interesting to see what happens from here on out. But maybe she won't have to worry about it for so long as they were going home the day after tomorrow so once she got home then it might be easier.

But Molly knew that she wouldn't ever forget the time she had here and she didn't want Clay to get hurt because of everything she was dealing with.

"Have a good day?" Sarah asked and looked over at her friend.

"Yeah, the snow has held off, hey did you know there is a party tomorrow night?" Molly asked as she hung up her coat on a hanger.

"We just found out about it and seeing as it's our last night we are so going shopping tomorrow for something to wear and we might as well live up the last night here" Sarah smiled.

Molly knew they would be going and it would definitely be a good night, she was determined on that.

Maybe there was a sort of magic about New York at Christmastime.

All Molly knew was that she definitely had been having a good time and wasn't ready to go home _just _yet but their last day was tomorrow and they were going to have the best damn last day.

"So tell us how it all went today"

Molly sighed under her breath and she sat down on the bed and told them everything, well apart from the kiss and she was glad that Marnie hadn't brought it up either.


	6. Chapter 6

The snow started coming down again the next morning which meant that whenever someone went out of the doors of the hotel there was a chance they could slip. Molly had sat in the lounge by the window and watched as people walked passed in a somewhat hurry looking like snowmen and women and it put a smile on her face as she held a steaming cup of tea in her hands.

It wasn't like the UK tea and she was hoping to get back to it soon enough so that she could pretty much drown herself in tea.

The one thing she wasn't looking forward to doing was going back to the Army after Christmas; she was hoping to put that thought away from her but right now sitting here looking out at the last full day of being in New York she knew that the inevitable was coming closer and closer. She remembered what Clay had said, that it was better to get ahead of the problem but how could she open the letter that was sitting in her drawer at home when she had avoided it for so long after Charles had died.

She wasn't looking forward to opening that can of worms especially when she wasn't sure just what those words would contain but the fact that he _had _left her a death letter made things a little more easier, even if his death wasn't easy at all; even after all this time.

Molly decided it was better to get out of this head space because the last thing she wanted to do was sit here thinking about Charles and everything that waited her at home especially when she had shopping still to do and drinking her steaming hot tea now was probably the worst thing she could do when she was going to end up going out in that snow.

The other girls joined her about twenty to thirty minutes later and had grabbed Molly's coat and everything else that she would need to go out into that damn cold.

"I hope we will be able to fly tomorrow" Marnie muttered to the other three and Molly had been hoping not to really think about going home but it seems like they were going to be talking about it whether she liked it or not.

The girls finished up their shopping while they were out and Molly hoped that they would be able to take all of this stuff back because the last thing she wants to do is leave what they have just brought behind, though she _could _mail it home but whether it would get there before Christmas was another thing.

Molly brought presents for her siblings, parents and even for Sam. It had been a while since she had seen the small boy because she couldn't handle it but maybe the first thing she could do is start by taking him a present.

The next thing they moved on to was the clothes that they were buying for the party that night, apparently Sarah had seen something that would blow the guys away and the dress was so beautiful that Molly was a little bit jealous when she had seen it because of the fact that she hadn't even thought about what she would be wearing for that night. Maybe jeans and a cute top would do it.

Sarah had looked so disgusted at that thought because this was a big deal, a hot guy was taking Molly to a party and the last thing she wanted to see the girl in was jeans and a cute top so instead they went dress hunting and found this really nice one that was definitely expensive but apparently she could hire it out and right there and then Sarah had told Molly to take it and have a good night.

Molly was definitely going to try to have a good night even if it was to have a laugh and just party the night away before she headed back to a world that she would rather forget for the rest of her life.

-.-

While Molly was waiting for the time to tick away she had decided to let her mind wander for a little bit and as she sat in the window seat of her room she looked down at the taxis below but for some reason she wasn't seeing them at all. She was back in Afghan and she could see Charles' eyes looking back at her and hearing his words "_Come back to me_" he had whispered to her "_I will_" Molly replied as he moved his thumb over her hand.

Then she was at home on the night that he proposed, he had this glint in his eye that Molly couldn't even think as to what he had been up to at that moment but then he got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife and she had been so surprised that she had been speechless for a moment but then she let a grin pull at her lips and she had said yes.

It was like she was looking down at the memories of her life with Charles and she wondered just how long she was going to be able to push all of it away. Molly hadn't truly felt everything and she hadn't read his letter that had been left for her because she feared of what had been in it at that time but then when she found out about Charles and Georgie then she had put it in the drawer and kept it locked and away from her so that she didn't have to see his handwriting. If she left the letter long enough then she could forget that it had even existed but now it was starting to burn a hole in her and she wanted to just get home and rip it open so that she could see just what he had written after all of this time.

After Elvis had died she had wanted him to leave the Army so that he could get the help that he needed, yes speaking to her was one thing but he needed to talk to someone professionally. She also wanted him to be safe and away from all of the fighting but at that she would have been a hypocrite because of how she would go out to other countries and help out.

Unfortunately in the end Molly grew tired of trying to get through to him, what was the point when he wasn't even listening to her anymore? What was the point when he stopped talking and started shutting her out? What was the point when she just didn't want to come home just in case he was there?

She found herself wanting to sign up to as many tours as she could so that she wouldn't have to be there when he got home but in the end she knew that she couldn't stand it anymore and decided it was best to have that clean break especially when he started to become obsessed with Georgie, Molly knew she had lost him even before that.

Molly remembered receiving that letter and seeing her name on the envelope _To be passed to Corporal Molly James in the event of my death _and she shut it away and now it seems like it's coming back to haunt her more than anything else. Or maybe it was the kiss the night before that was starting to haunt her because of how Clay had been the first person she kissed since Charles. Molly had left the marriage but there hand't been anyone waiting for her; she had wanted to heal her heart and concentrate on her career before she even met another man but it seems as if she has met someone and she's being haunted by a bloody letter thousands of miles away.

"Penny for your thoughts" A voice spoke through her thoughts and Molly looked over to see who had entered the room.

"I don't think you want to live in my head, Sarah" Molly replied and she smiled softly. She turned in her seat properly and looked over at her best friend. "I've been thinking"

"I've noticed" Sarah replied before sitting down on her own bed and putting her legs up on it before she removed the scarf from around her neck "So what have you been thinking about?"

Molly hesitated for a moment because she knew what all of this would mean but there was no way that she could run away from all of this anymore; she had to stop running and face everything that she had been putting off including that of the death letter sitting at home with all of the rest of Charles' stuff that she hasn't looked through. Molly shut him out the second that he had died out of fear that she would sink under the grief and then after the enquiry she just didn't want to look at his stuff so in the end she just shut it up and tried to forget about it but even now, two countries apart, she still couldn't get her mind off of what he would have said in his letter. "I'm going to stop running away from all of Charles' things and face them head on, I have to read his letter and even see-"

"_Her_?" Sarah asked after putting her scarf on her pillow, she had no idea why she actually had worn it especially when she had only been downstairs with the other two but it was warm and it looked cute so she decided to just leave it on.

Molly nodded and knew that going to see Georgie Lane was probably the worst idea she has had in a while but if there was one way that she was going to move on then that would have to mean seeing the woman that she really didn't want to see face to face. "But first I'm going to let Christmas come and go and then do it after because there is no way that I'm going to let any of that happen before the big day"

As much as Sarah didn't like the thought of Molly going to see Georgie she also knew that Molly couldn't put it off any longer; the dark haired woman was pretty much a walking time-bomb and Sarah wasn't sure when she would go off but it looked like Molly wanted to get ahead of that and stop it from even happening. "You know I will help you out no matter what, you need me I will be there" Sarah said with a soft smile and a nod. Unfortunately Sarah also knew that it didn't matter how much she was there it was something that Molly had to feel on her own, she had to feel those emotions and deal with the grief; no one could feel it for her which was sad.

"I know you will, you're my best friend and I'm glad that I have you by my side" Molly admitted. In fact Sarah was the best best friend that she could ever ask for and knew that she would be at her side no matter what and knew that Molly would be there for her too.

"So tell me more about Clay" Sarah leaned back against her headboard and looked back at her best friend.

"Well he's in the Navy, it seems like I have a type" Molly said through a laugh and was glad for the change in subject.

"So it would seem" Sarah grinned.

The two females sat talking a little bit more about Clay for a little while until it was time to get ready for the party.

-.-

Molly looked at herself in the mirror and knew that she looked so different from how she would usually dress, this time it was a purple dress that came down to her knees with sleeves that came down to her elbows that were lace and she had borrowed a pair of shoes from Sarah which strangely had fit her feet. Her hair was swept back into a tight pony tail and she had minimal make-up on but that didn't seem to matter because she still looked amazing.

She didn't like to dress up much now since she had started the Army but when she did dress up it was definitely noticeable. Molly was the only one in the room as the other three had already gone down and she had asked for a moment but now she was more than ready to go down and live her best life in America for the last time.

Molly took the lift down and when she got to the lobby she could hear the music and see the lights coming from the ballroom, she smiled at the man that was standing by the door and then looked into the ballroom, it was dressed up for Christmas with a big tree in one corner and around the room was tables that some people were sitting at, others were up on the dancefloor having a good time and she smiled to herself.

Someone came to her side and Molly looked over to see that Clay had stopped on her left hand side; he looked really nice and actually looked as if he belonged in things like this but Molly really didn't. Maybe once she did but the Army had changed that part of her. Something that she really should tell Clay but something told her to keep that secret for a little bit longer.

"Well don't you scrub up well" she said and grinned at him.

"Is that more Brit talk?" Clay asked before raising an eyebrow at her.

Molly let out a soft laugh "It means that you look nice" she had to shout it a little so that he could hear it, of course standing closer to him might've been easier but that would probably make things awkward especially after the kiss the night before. Molly hoped that that wouldn't be an issue between the two of them, they were both adults after all and the last thing that adults did was complicate things... right?

"Well then you _scrub up _really well too" Clay said and looked her over and knew that this was the first time and probably the last he would see her in something like this so he then decided to hold out his arm "Would you do me the honour of dancing with me?" he asked and waited for a moment.

"I would love too" Molly finally said before taking his arm, wrapping hers around his, and they walked over to the dancefloor just as the song turned to something slow. She looked around at the others slow dancing around them and rather put both her arms around his neck she decided to put one while he took her other hand and put his against her waist.

"I can't believe that we're both heading home tomorrow, it seems as if we've only just got here, have you had fun at least?" Clay asked.

"I have and it's given me time to think a lot before I head home and you were right, I should tackle things head on and hope that I can move on"

Clay watched her for a moment "I could only give my advice but in the end it was up to you on whether you decide to take the advice so really it's all up to you"

"Maybe I'm tired of running from everything and know it's time to finally let it in, at least then I will be able to move on in the end" Molly knew it would take a while and knew that in the end if she didn't actually let it in then there was a chance it would eat her up til she was angry and bitter. The last thing she wanted was for that to happen so she was going to have to finally let it in and pray that it doesn't drown her.

"Well if it helps; I'm proud of you for finally standing up to everything and you will have to let me know how it goes"

"And what about you? Are you going to face up to whatever it is you're running away from too?" Molly raised an eyebrow at him. "I know when someone is running away, so maybe it's time to actually go home and face whatever it is you are running from too"

Clay nodded "I should probably do that but us men don't really do the sensible thing so what I do do and what I need to do is completely different things but maybe it's time to finally start pushing myself a little bit more to get things said"

The two of them went quiet for a little bit and let the music continue around them as they continued to dance. Molly wasn't sure just what it was Clay was running from but she figured that it was something big. "We will have to share Skype information so that we can keep up with things across the pond" Molly spoke after a little while.

That brought another smile to his face "I would like that, it's probably better than writing a letter that will probably never get to you"

"Who says I don't like written letters?" Molly asked teasingly before letting a grin pull at her lips to which Clay grinned back because she had almost had him there. "Skype is better because at least then I can actually talk to you face to face... Well you know what I mean"

"Aww you want to see my face" he teased back at her, the grin still pulling at his features.

"Of course" she rolled her eyes before letting another smile pull at her lips. "No it's just nice to be able to talk to someone who understands; I know that I got family and friends but it's like you're the first person I've spoken to about all of this and you can understand"

Clay watched her for another moment and if he's being honest he was glad that she wanted to kepe in contact with him even though they both had their own baggage to deal with. "Well you will have to give me your details before we part ways because I'm unfortunately going to be catching an early flight home which means it's unlikely that I will be able to see you tomorrow and you got the long flight home anyway"

Molly wasn't looking forward to sitting on a plane for all of those hours but it was the only way she would be able to get home. "Ah yes the most exciting journey home ever" she said sarcastically and Clay laughed.

-.-

The night continued on with a mixture of party tunes and Christmas songs coming from the DJ at the front, drinks were flowing and there was definitely a lot of laughter and dancing from all of them; even though Clay's friends had tried to keep it cool but in the end of it Molly's girls pulled them up to the dancefloor and told them they had no choice but to have a party with them.

People started to slowly leave as the night wore on as most of them said about getting the early flights out, if they were flying of course. Molly headed up with the girls and boys not long after the room started to really empty and it felt weird because there was something in her that told her this wasn't the last time she would see Clay in person but she wasn't sure why she actually felt that.

Clay's mates said their goodnights and they headed off to their rooms and Molly's girlfriends went in their rooms leaving the two of them outside "Not exactly subtle is it?" Molly said and shook her head before looking back at Clay. "I know that we're actually going home tomorrow but.." she held up a finger for him to wait a moment and used her key to open the door to her room and found a pen and pad that had been left in the room before writing down her details, her Skype address and even her mobile number because it would be nice to hear from him at some point.

Molly walked back out of the room and handed the paper over to him "My Skype account and if you want to ring it my mobile because I would definitely like to hear from you so that I can hear about your journey and I can hopefully tell you about mine"

"I'd like that" Clay nodded and put the paper in the pocket of his trousers before looking up at her. "I really hope that you have a safe flight and that things work out for you" he said with a smile.

"You too" Molly put her hand against his arm and then leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. She gave him a soft smile before she opened the door to her room and shut it behind her.

Clay waited for a moment as the door shut and he looked up and down the hallway before taking a deep breath and turning in the direction of his own room and reached into the pocket of his trousers and grabbed the piece of paper out and looked at it "Molly Dawes" he spoke with a soft smile on his lips.

Something told him that this definitely wouldnt be the last time that he saw her face to face and that's not including Skype. He put the paper back into his pocket and then grabbed his room key and walked into his own room when it was unlocked. Making sure that he put that piece of paper somewhere safe.

They might be in different countries and they might be dealing with their own baggage but he thinks that he's found a friend that he can talk to and maybe that was what he needed right now. The same with Molly, maybe they could talk to each other a lot better than the people that were around them daily because of the fact that they wouldn't be around each other every day; they could use that.


End file.
